In the Islamic tradition, honoring one’s elders is not simply a matter of courtesy — it is a sacred obligation. The Prophet ﷺ said: “He is not of us who does not show mercy to our young and does not respect the dignity of our elders.” For AMCF donors who take that teaching seriously, Olive Community Services is doing something rare and beautiful in Fullerton, California: building an organization entirely devoted to ensuring that Muslim seniors and older adults from immigrant communities age with dignity, connection, and joy. And in 2026, they are celebrating ten years of doing exactly that.
A Decade of Showing Up for Seniors
Founded in 2016 and based in Fullerton, California, Olive Community Services is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to promoting the health, dignity, and well-being of older adults, caregivers, and families in their community.
What began a decade ago as a grassroots response to a genuine gap — Muslim and immigrant seniors in Southern California who were aging in relative isolation, without culturally appropriate programming or community connection — has grown into a beloved institution. Their participants don’t just call themselves program attendees. They call themselves Olivers. That word says everything about the kind of community Olive has built.
With a strong focus on cultural inclusivity, Olive provides programs that address the physical, emotional, and social needs of seniors — especially those from underserved and immigrant populations. Ten years in, their reach has expanded well beyond their Fullerton base, touching lives across Southern California through in-person, outdoor, and virtual programming.
The 10th anniversary is not just a milestone to celebrate — it is a testament to what happens when a community organization stays true to its mission, builds trust one senior at a time, and refuses to treat its elders as an afterthought.
Live, Learn, Thrive — A Philosophy in Three Words
Every Olive program flows from a single, elegant tagline: Live. Learn. Thrive. It is not marketing language — it is a genuine philosophy of what aging well looks like, and it animates every program the organization runs.
Live Learn Thrive (LLT) is Olive’s flagship weekly program. Designed to enhance the health and well-being of older adults and seniors, LLT offers engaging activities focused on exercise, education, creativity, and meaningful connection, fostering a sense of community and enrichment. The program is held at Olive’s base in Fullerton, as well as in neighboring cities including Yorba Linda, Irvine, Anaheim, and Upland — and online, ensuring that no senior is left out due to transportation or mobility barriers.
Olive Online brings the same LLT experience into participants’ homes, allowing seniors to participate through a computer or smart device and reap the same benefits of increasing their health and well-being — a model that proved especially vital during the pandemic and has remained a cornerstone of Olive’s accessibility commitment.
Olive Outdoors takes a different approach entirely. Partnering with young naturalists from the Arts & Wilderness Institute, seniors enjoy nature walks guided by enthusiastic young guides — sipping tea made from native plants, trying their hand at drawing, and experiencing the outdoors in an intergenerational, joyful setting.
Oliver Storytime may be the program that most captures Olive’s heart. This intergenerational, youth-led initiative connects young people and seniors to mitigate stress and anxiety and build confidence and resilience through the powerful stories of elders. In a culture that too often treats older adults as invisible, Oliver Storytime flips the script — centering senior wisdom as something the next generation genuinely needs to hear.
Olive Friends ensures that no Oliver ages alone. Recognizing that relationships and social interaction help older adults maintain good physical, emotional, and cognitive function — and can contribute to longer, healthier lives — each older person is matched with an Olive volunteer with similar interests.
And Olive Rack, their gently used traditional clothing shop, brings community resourcefulness into the mix — providing high-quality traditional clothing at affordable prices while directing every purchase toward funding programs and services for seniors in need.
In Their Own Words
“I love Olive! Let me say that loud and clear: I love Olive!
Who knew that when I followed up on a flyer Zainab handed to me outside of my Tai Chi and balance class, I would be welcomed into such a warm and friendly community. From my very first Olive meeting — which featured a wonderful presentation and discussion about Black American history within the last 50 years — I was hooked. Smart questions, attentive learners, passionate speakers, great food — what more could I want!
I am so impressed with Olive, and I have felt its impact in my very being. It welcomes the stranger, helps us meet new friends, teaches us about each other, and brings us to the table to eat together. It draws us out of our isolation into community, encourages cross-generational connections, stimulates our minds and hearts, and ignites our artistic creativity.
Thank you, Olive, and all ‘Olivers’!”
— Ellen Lafler, Oliver
Why This Work Matters to the Muslim Philanthropic Ecosystem
The Muslim community in America is aging. The generation that built the first Islamic schools, masajid, and community organizations in this country is now in their senior years — and they deserve an old age that honors what they gave. At the same time, immigrant seniors who came later often find themselves in a country where mainstream senior services don’t speak their language, understand their culture, or respect their dietary and spiritual needs.
Olive Community Services was built precisely for those families. It is one of very few Muslim-led senior services organizations in the country, and its decade of work in Southern California represents a model that the entire Muslim philanthropic ecosystem should want to see replicated.
Olive Community Services was also recognized as a grantee of the AMCF Women’s Giving Circle in its 2024 cycle — a fitting match between a giving circle dedicated to Muslim women’s leadership and an organization dedicated to the wellbeing of the elders who blazed the trail before them.
For AMCF donors, supporting Olive through a donor-advised fund or giving circle is a direct investment in honoring the elders of our community — the people who planted the seeds that our community now grows in. There is perhaps no more fitting expression of sadaqah than ensuring that those who gave so much are seen, celebrated, and cared for in return.
Happy 10th anniversary, Olive. The best is yet to come.
Support Organizations Like Olive Community Services Through AMCF
Through your AMCF donor-advised fund, endowment, or giving circle, you can direct your charitable dollars toward organizations like Olive Community Services — funding the wellness programs, intergenerational connections, and cultural care that Muslim seniors in Southern California deserve.